Veteran Nigerian filmmaker Ola Balogun has directed that his viable organs be donated to persons in need and the remainder of his body handed over to medical institutions after his death.
The 81-year-old filmmaker issued the instructions in a document titled “Public Rendition of My Last Will and Testament,” following a recent health scare.
Balogun said he received a fresh medical alert shortly after celebrating his 81st birthday on August 1, 2026, and was receiving treatment at the Josek Medical Centre in Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos State.
He explained that his medical condition and inability to immediately engage a legal practitioner to prepare a formal will prompted him to publicly document his final wishes.
“Barely a week after I was privileged to celebrate my 81st birthday on August 1st, a fresh medical alert has obliged me to once more seek treatment at the Josek Medical Centre in Ogba, Ikeja,” he said.
“Consequently, I am hastily writing these few lines, not knowing whether or not I am destined to emerge alive from my latest confrontation with illness.”
The filmmaker said he resorted to the public document because he did not presently have the opportunity to engage a lawyer to prepare a final version of his will.
“Since I do not have the material possibility of calling on a legal practitioner at the present moment to seek help in drawing up a final version of my last will and testament, I have decided to have recourse to the present public document in order to leave instructions behind in the event that my physical being should succumb to death within the next few days or weeks,” he stated.
Balogun cited the late Nigerian statesman, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, as an inspiration for his decision to make orderly preparations for his death.
He recalled that Awolowo calmly prepared a final version of his will shortly before his death, adding that departure from life should be treated like preparation for a long journey.
“I am encouraged in this decision by the sterling example of the great Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who calmly sat down to pen a final version of his will a few weeks before his death,” Balogun said.
“Like the late sage, I firmly believe that departure from earthly existence should involve a well-thought-out and orderly process, rather akin to preparation for a long journey.”
The filmmaker directed that immediately after his death is medically certified, his body should be examined and any viable organs extracted for donation to people who need them.
He specifically mentioned his kidneys and eyes among organs that could be donated, subject to their medical suitability.
“I hereby further direct that immediately after my physical demise would have been medically certified, my remains should be speedily dissected in order to extract any vital organs that might be useful for donation to persons in need of vital organs such as the kidneys, the eyes, etc.,” he said.
Balogun further directed that whatever remained of his body after the recovery of viable organs should be released to appropriate medical institutions.
According to him, the remains should be used to train future doctors undertaking dissections and studying morbid anatomy.
“After that, I hereby direct that whatever is left over should be speedily handed over to appropriate medical institutions for use by future doctors who are learning how to carry out dissections within the scope of their study of morbid anatomy,” he added.
Balogun said the instructions were informed by his belief that his physical remains should continue to be useful to other people after his death.
“The above decisions concerning the disposal of my corpse are rooted in the firm conviction that my physical remains should, if possible, be useful to the living,” he stated.
Balogun is regarded as one of the pioneers of Nigerian cinema, with a filmmaking career spanning several decades and productions in English, Yoruba, Pidgin and Igbo.
He directed his first feature-length film, “Alpha,” in 1972, marking his transition from documentary production to narrative cinema.
His other notable works include “Ija Ominira,” “Amadi,” “Nigersteel,” “Ajani Ogun,” “Musik Man” and “Oorun Mooru.”
He belongs to the first generation of Nigerian filmmakers alongside Hubert Ogunde, Jab Adu, Ade Afolayan, popularly known as Ade Love, and Moses Olaiya, popularly known as Baba Sala.
